40 things the House could have done while it was busy repealing Obamacare

U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) makes his way to a House GOP caucus meeting, on Capitol Hill, July 9, 2013 in Washington, DC.

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What can you say about a U.S. House of Representatives that devotes the last day before summer recess to a futile exercise it has already performed 39 times? We’re talking, of course, about today’s 232-185 vote to roll back the Affordable Care Act, this time by prohibiting the IRS from carrying out any of its designated roles. Majority Leader Eric Cantor claimed (falsely) that the health care law gives the IRS “access to the American people’s protected health care information,” and that the “Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013” will somehow safeguard our medical privacy. The House bill has zero chance of becoming law—its passage was largely an exercise in what Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas might call “self-pleasuring.” But imagine what these dogged legislators could accomplish if they took 40 votes on 40 issues instead of one! Here’s a list of 39 chores worth returning to someday. What’s number 40? Please tweet your nomination, using #40things.